EU Project
We work in partnership with Wandsworth Borough Council to offer information and advice about Brexit and related issues to EU citizens living in Wandsworth. We help individual residents to secure their rights to live in the UK by applying to the EU Settlement Scheme and manage their settled and pre-settled status.
The EU Settlement Scheme deadline has now passed. However, eligible European citizens and their family members can still apply. Please see the ‘What you need to know’ section for more details. Detailed information on eligibility, the rights the two statuses give, and how to manage your status once granted can be found in our leaflet here.
We are looking to gather information on how confident applicants are when needing to prove and use their Pre-settled or Settled status, and access services and benefits. Everyone can help us by completing this anonymised survey and encouraging others to contribute and respond. This information will help us identify any gaps in our services and inform future engagement. If you have any questions or concerns in regards with this survey, please contact us.
Coronavirus closure
Due to the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) we can only help you by phone or email as we’ve closed our offices to the public and have cancelled our face-to-face outreach.
Other services have also closed and you may find it difficult to get help applying for settled status at the moment. You can still contact us to talk about how we can help.
We’ll send out updates via our mailing list when this changes.
What you need to know
The UK left the EU and the Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020. The deadline for most people to apply for pre-settled or settled status from the EU Settlement Scheme and secure their rights in the UK after Brexit was 30 June 2021.
Although the application deadline has passed, we urge everyone to check if they need to apply and submit an application as soon as possible. More information for late applicants is available on Gov.UK here.
If you started living in the UK before 31 December 2020 and you or someone in your family is an EU citizen, you should apply to the EU Settlement Scheme, even if you:
- were born in the UK but are not a British citizen
- are a child
- have a permanent residence document
- are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen with a British citizen family member
- have an EU/EEA Residence document
You don’t need to apply if you have:
- indefinite leave to remain in the UK
- British or Irish citizenship.
You can only apply to the scheme after the deadline if you:
- have a good reason for making a late application – check if you can make a late application
- are upgrading from pre-settled to settled status
- are applying to join a family member in the UK – find out more about joining family
- have a valid work, study or family visa
There is a new point based immigration system that applies to anyone moving to the UK after 1 January 2021.
Applying for pre/settled status
You can apply by downloading the ‘EU Exit: ID Document Check’ app on your phone. To use the app you need a biometric identity document and either an Android phone or an iPhone 7 or above. You can also apply online and send in your identity documents by post if you don’t have biometric ID or a phone that can run the app, or if your biometric passport or ID card expired.
If you do not have any identity documents, you can apply via a paper application form that can be downloaded from here and sent by post or email.
To be eligible for settled status you usually need to have lived in the UK for at least 6 months in any 12 month period for 5 years in a row. You need to prove this when you apply but you can do this by giving your National Insurance number, which allows for an automated check of your residence based on tax and benefit records. If this check is successful you won’t need to provide any documents.
If you’ve not lived here for 5 years in a row you may still be eligible for pre-settled status, which gives you fewer rights but can be upgraded to settled status at a later date.
Information about settled status
GOV.UK has detailed guidance about settled status (also available in EU languages) and this guidance about viewing and proving your status to employers, landlords, or any other instance where a confirmation of your immigration status is required. If you have not yet received a decision, the certificate of application that you received after you made a valid application to the EU Settlement Scheme before 30 June 2021 can be accessed online via the ‘view and prove your immigration status‘ service.
Citizens Advice has also published useful information about staying in the UK after Brexit.
You can sign up to our mailing list for updates and the Home Office also has a mailing list for updates about Brexit and the status of EU citizens in the UK.
Get help scanning your documents
Wandsworth Council have been offering a document scanning service but this is currently closed. Similar services in other parts of the country are also closed.
Get help applying for settled status
If you or someone you know can’t apply without assistance the Home Office has funded a national network of 72 charities and voluntary organisations to help. In Wandsworth this service is provided by us in partnership with South West London Law Centres.
Get help from us
We can help you:
- understand your options for securing your rights in the UK
- apply to the EU Settlement Scheme (settled and pre-settled status)
- resolve other issues relating to being an EU national
Call us on 0203 559 2019 or use the form below to contact us.
Your personal information
When you contact us we may ask you for your personal information in order to help us advise you. We’ll ask you to confirm that you’re happy for us to collect and store your information and we won’t share it without your permission.
We follow the Citizens Advice privacy policy. Our information charter has more information about how we store, share and protect your personal information.
Complaints and feedback
We have a complaints handling procedure, please let us know if you want us to send you a complaints leaflet.